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Overview | How can music help illuminate literature? And how can literature teach us about music? In this lesson, students read a review of a musical performance based on Plato’s dialogues and
then set a literary work they have studied to music in order to bring out or enhance its meaning.

Materials | Literary selections, as described below; music player and selections of music

Warm-Up | Tell students to get into small groups, and give each group a copy of one of the following:

A short excerpt from the literary work they are reading or recently read in class, like an important passage or the last page

A poem that is thematically linked to what they are reading, like Shakespearean sonnets or famous monologues from Shakespearean or other plays

You might give all groups the same passage, or you might sprinkle various passages around the room, ensuring that at least two groups receive the same passage. In addition, assign each group a well-known and catchy
tune, like “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or “Jingle Bells.” Make sure that these do not repeat.

Tell the groups to prepare to perform the literary excerpt to the tune they’ve been assigned. After a few minutes, have one student from each group read the excerpt aloud, and then have the entire group sing
the assigned song.

After student performances, open discussion with the following questions:

How did the music change how you read the excerpt?

What aspects of the text changed as the music changed?

Did anything surprise you as you listened?

Did one tune “work” with the text better than another? If so, which one, and why?

In what ways are music and literature alike?

In what ways have you seen these two art forms paired before? Were these pairings effective? Why or why not?

Satie called his three-part “Socrate” a symphonic drama. The music is neither symphonic nor dramatic but a sparsely orchestrated, cantata-like setting of three excerpts from Plato’s dialogues.
It received a rare outing on Sunday afternoon at Zankel Hall, with James Levine conducting the Met Chamber Ensemble.

Devoid of the satire and wit often associated with Satie, “Socrate” (1918) features simple, repetitive rhythms and a transparent orchestral accompaniment for the graceful vocal lines, which are often
delivered in a detached, recitative manner. Satie called the work a “return to classical simplicity with a modern sensibility.”

The music barely hints at the drama of Plato’s texts, which are sung in French. The first movement, “Portrait of Socrates,” comes from “The Symposium”; the second, “The
Banks of the Ilissus,” is from “Phaedrus”; and the third, “Death of Socrates,” is from “Phaedo.”

Read the entire article with your class, using the questions below.

Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:

Why might a composer want to set a piece of literature, like excerpts from Plato’s dialogues, to music?

How does the reviewer think that Satie’s “Socrate” measures up as a “symphonic drama”?

How does music reveal tone in Erin Morley’s performance of Plato’s long monologue about Socrates’ death?

What can classical music add to a literary experience?

Why does literature provide good fodder for operas, musicals and songs?

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Activity | Here are seven ideas for incorporating music into the study of literature:

Exploring Rhythm and Mood: Use the warm-up as a jumping-off point to help students understand literary “sound” elements like rhythm, meter, tone and mood. After students reach an understanding
of these terms, they find one or more pieces of music that they think fits the tone or mood of the literature they are currently studying. In class presentations, they choose one piece of music to play while they
read aloud the corresponding excerpt, then explain their choice and how it reflects the mood of the text, considering how different instruments, musical dynamics, tempo and rhythm, and repeated musical motifs contribute
to its tone and mood.

Writing Original Compositions: Students set a snippet from the literature they are studying to their own original beat or tune. Rap works particularly well for this, particularly if the book is saturated in hip-hop culture,
though students who are musically inclined might choose to compose an original piece of classical or instrumental music to accompany a part or parts of the text. In either case, encourage students to consider mood
and tone and what they hope to reveal about the text through music. Students studying “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” might create rap songs that reflect the racial conflicts of the novel or compose
music that reflects the contrasting worlds of the river and the shore.

Creating Soundtracks and Liner Notes: Students consider iconic movie theme songs and soundtracks from films like “Star Wars,” “Superman” and “Indiana Jones,”
and discuss the impact of that music on the film itself as well as on audiences and popular culture. They then choose a theme song for a character in the work they are reading and use it as an anchor tune for a
book soundtrack of at least five songs. They might find musical styles contemporary to the time of the text (either when it was written or when it was set) or browse their own collections. In choosing songs,
they should consider setting, theme, overall tone or mood and the main characters. They should also write liner notes (PDF) that list
the artists and song titles and explain how their selections reflect their interpretations.

Reviewing Performances: Many literary classics have inspired opera librettos, musical theater productions and even ballets, including “Moby Dick,”“Hamlet” and American classics.
As a class, watch a video, listen to an excerpt, or, if feasible, attend a live production of an opera or musical based on your reading. Afterward, students write reviews about how the music affected their experience of the text and about what was both gained and lost in “translation.” For example, readers of “Othello” might watch the video or clip of Verdi’s “Otello.”

Analyzing Music in a Text: Many works of literature feature music in a major way. Tennessee Williams, for one, uses music and snippets from songs as a motif throughout “A Streetcar Named Desire”
to reveal character and intensify theme. If this is the case, ask students to explore the role music plays in the novel or play you’re studying. Students studying “Streetcar” might trace the
use of the Varsouviana music and how it contributes to Blanche’s character. Alternatively, they might watch the film version and write a review of how effectively they think Elia Kazan uses a particular kind
of music to enhance theme and character.

Exploring Musicality: In a review of an illustrated children’s hip-hip anthology, Adam Bradley, a professor of African-American literature,
explains that for children, hip-hop is “a natural way to learn the basics of poetry.” Use our lesson We’ve Got the Beat to explore the musicality (rhythm, meter, tempo) of literary works, especially poetry or other particularly “musical” genres like Beat literature, with students. Have students reveal understanding
of the music of texts by performing them using simple musical instruments (even homemade ones — oatmeal canister drum, anyone?) or recorded music.

Using Music as a Teaching Tool: Since students often find music more accessible than literature, ask them to demonstrate their understanding of various literary movements or other difficult literary
concepts, like irony, by using songs to help teach one another about them. In the grand tradition of “Schoolhouse Rock,”
students might come up with musical methods for teaching grammar and style concepts. Or they might explore the wiki site Use Your Allusion to find songs with literary references and choose selections to play in class, for discussion about how the material was interpreted and represented in music. (They might also add their own ideas to the wiki.)

Going Further | After students complete and share their work, they reflect on what they gained by pairing music with literature in this way. What can one teach us about the other? What new understandings
have you arrived at about the text based on this activity?

And, why should English teachers get to have all the fun? Science and math teachers can use music and songwriting to help students understand and teach complex scientific and mathematical concepts. And history teachers can
help students understand various decades by asking students to explore seminal songs and albums.

Language Arts 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process 5. Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process 6. Demonstrates competence in the general
skills and strategies for reading a variety of literary texts 7. Uses general skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different
purposes

Music 7. Understands the relationship between music and history and culture

Arts and Communication 1. Understands the principles, processes and products associated with arts and communication media 2. Knows and applies appropriate criteria to arts and communication
products 3. Uses critical and creative thinking in various arts and communication settings 4. Understands ways in which the human experience is transmitted and reflected in the arts and communication

Life Skills: Working With Others 1. Contributes to the overall effort of a group 4. Displays effective interpersonal communication skills